Empowering Unity and Education: A Vision for LCC's Future

Dear LCC Leadership, 

We appreciate the second message issued by the Head of School and Chair of the Board as a first step in rectifying the incident that occurred off-campus on Friday, October 27th. However, in our view there was a broader opportunity for education that was missed about the impact that such incidents have on our community. 

The school labeled the incident as unacceptable and denounced antisemitism without making the critical link of denouncing the act itself as being antisemitic. We recognize that anyone—and in particular a grade 12 student—is a candidate to exercise poor judgement and conduct themselves in a way that in hindsight would be viewed as regrettable. Taking his apology at face value, we do not believe the student is antisemitic or a bad person. Nonetheless, in a lapse of judgement, the student displayed antisemitic behaviour which was offensive to the Jewish community. 

A core element of the mandate of a high school is to refine the judgement of its students to ensure that they effectively represent their communities when going out into the world. The Jewish community seeks to work with LCC to ensure that as part of that process, students conduct themselves in a way that makes us proud. 

We recommend the following suggestions that would promote a clear understanding of Jewish history, and the context that informs our stance against the incident: 

• The implementation of Holocaust education in the curriculum to teach students about empathy, its impact and promote diverse perspectives. 
• Encouraging students who went on the “March of the Living” trip to make an annual presentation at assembly. 
• The addition of Jewish history books to summer reading lists.
• An annual trip where grade 7 students visit the Montreal Holocaust Museum. 
• LCC Leadership can attend the March of the Living trip to benefit from intimately learning about the Holocaust. 
• Allow posters to be put up in school for holidays and special events. 
• Invite guest speakers to speak at school assemblies, providing insights into Judaism, its history, and contemporary issues. 
• Create a Jewish student group to represent the student body to discuss any matters and organize events.

Let’s turn the page and embark on a new chapter.

We thank you for your attention and understanding. 

Yours Truly,

LCC Students, Alumni & Our Allies